


This Is Where You Fall Down

by Dracothelizard



Category: Mortal Kombat - All Media Types, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Crack, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2013-06-25
Packaged: 2017-12-15 00:50:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/843384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dracothelizard/pseuds/Dracothelizard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When John Stilinski meets Raiden, he is not happy to find out that someone is going around killing potential Earthrealm fighters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“It’s time for the next generation.”

The whisper, when it comes, sends  a chill down Sheriff Stilinski’s spine. He knows that whisper, knows it better than anyone left alive. “No.” It’s not the sort of whisper you want to hear when you’re simply patrolling the highway for people who are speeding.

He can hear the faint cackle in the wind. “Oh, but it is.”

There’s a brief moment of silence before he sees the bolt of lightning, one, two, three seconds before he hears the thunder.

Of course, gods can travel faster than sound.

 ~*~

 “You’re not using my son,” is the first thing he says when the bedraggled figure stands up.  He’s dressed in white and blue, of course he is, and he’s still wearing the same old straw hat, as if that helps him fit in 21st century small town America. “I won’t let you.”

When Raiden’s eyes meet his, they’re the electric blue of lightning, and John steps back. “I have no interest in your son,” he says, his voice quiet. He smirks. “His friends, on the other hand…”

He knows what’s up in the town, because you don’t become sheriff of Beacon Hills by being an idiot. “You’re not using the werewolves either.” It’s a firm stance to take, considering the werewolves have caused nothing but trouble, but as far as John can tell, the werewolves aren’t trying to make Earth part of Outworld, a part of Shao Kahn’s empire, which puts them ahead in his book. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Raiden merely smiles, and John suppresses the urge to punch him. It’s been years since he first met Raiden, and the urge to punch the smug, knowing smile off his face has never quite left him. “It is as I said,” he says. “It is time for a new tournament.”

“We won the last one,” John replies. It can’t have been that long since Liu Kang’s last victory, surely? “He won the last one.”

Raiden, still with the worrying lightning bolt eyes, nods. “That he did, safeguarding Earthrealm for another generation.”

Sheriff Stilinski almost sighs with relief.

“But then poor old Liu Kang never did make sure to have that next generation, did he?”

“You’re not taking my son!” the Sheriff shouts again, reaching for Raiden who has already disappeared in a bolt of lightning. He pants, then looks up at the dark sky above him. “You’re still an asshole, you know that?”

There’s a crack of thunder that sounds like laughter, and Sheriff Stilinski swears under his breath.

 ~*~

 He keeps a very close eye on Stiles, just in case he shows any signs of secretly conversing with a thunder god. Stiles doesn’t, of course, because Stiles is focused on normal everyday things like grades and SATs and his friends and werewolves, which, okay, the latter isn’t exactly a _normal_ everyday thing for teenagers, but John thinks werewolves are preferred over the creatures from Outworld. There is no way Scott McCall is conquering the local highschool, never mind the entire Earth on Shang Tsung’s behalf. From what John heard from his son, Scott is too busy mooning after Allison and the poor boy barely manages to keep his grades up.

If John were Shang Tsung, he would go for someone more useful, that’s all.

He had wanted normalcy. After the tournament, after Liu Kang’s victory… the only thing he had wanted was normalcy. That was why he had married someone who had no idea the Mortal Kombat tournaments existed, someone who hadn’t really known about Johnny  Cage - although that had stung a little - someone who wouldn’t care that he took her name upon marriage.

Someone who was, considering Outworld and Earthrealm and Mortal Kombat, not nearly as important as Johnny Cage.

Someone whose death hurt all the more because he couldn’t fight it.

Stiles is the only thing he has left of her, of normalcy, of a life beyond Hollywood and Mortal Kombat. Stiles, with his excellent grades and ability to think quickly under stress, should be protected from all of this.

Which of course means he ends up in the middle of this entire mess within days.

 ~*~

 John likes to think himself as a nice, normal dad. Considering his job as Sheriff, it would be easy to become paranoid and overly worried whenever his son sneaks out in the middle of the night and tries to drive off quietly. Stiles is a teenager and not an idiot, he’s allowed to have his little moments of rebellion against authority.

He opens Stiles’ laptop and feels guilty for what he’s about to do. He’s had a mandatory three-day workshop on cybercrime, which had included ethics and the law.

He really shouldn’t be going through Stiles’ browser history – Stiles deletes it, but John has a few tricks he’s learned – or the rest of his computer, but he’s not taking any chances.

When he sees that Stiles has been Googling Mortal Kombat, martial arts tournaments, Shang Tsung, Liu Kang and a few other things that are definitely not on the school’s curriculum, John knows enough. “Raiden, you son of a bitch,” he grumbles.

If Stiles is involved, Scott is involved. If Scott is involved, Allison is involved. Since fighting is involved, Derek Hale and the rest of the werewolves probably are too.

He can’t have his town be used by Raiden as the location for the next tournament. He can’t.

 ~*~

 The next day, John intercepts Derek when he leaves the grocery store. Werewolves have big appetites, John’s learned that from the times Scott eats dinner at their place because Melinda has a shift at the hospital. You can only put down so much to being a teenager and having a growth spurt.

Derek looks surprised when John approaches him, putting down the two bags on the trunk of his new Toyota.

“Nice wheels,” John says, nodding at the new car and taking off his glasses. “What happened to the Camaro?”

“Long story,” Derek replies. He tries to smile, but he can’t hide the nerves. “Something the matter, Sheriff?”

“You know anything about a guy named Raiden?” John asks him, inwardly pleased when Derek’s mouth drops open. “Older guy, dresses in white and blue, wears a weird straw hat, strange eyes?”

Derek stares at him, then leans closer. “You know about Raiden?” he asks, his voice soft and disbelieving.

“We’ve met,” is all John says. “Long story.” He smiles briefly. “Has he mentioned Mortal Kombat to you and your...” He pauses, unsure if it’s the right word, but figures it’s worth a shot, “pack?”

He sees Derek tense up and the other man furtively glances around before looking back at John. “What do you know?” He looks scared more than anything.

“I’m the local Sheriff. Not a lot gets by me.” He gives Derek the most impressive ‘I know everything you’ve done so come clean now and it’ll go easier for you’ stare he can muster. “I’ve had to deal with Raiden before. He’s not a bad guy, but he’s a troublemaker. Be careful with him.”

Derek nods, a thousand questions written all over his face, but none that he asks. “I will, Sheriff.”

“And one more thing.” He puts his sunglasses back on and folds his arms. “If my son gets hurt, Shang Tsung and the Outrealm will be the least of your worries.” He smiles smugly as Derek’s eyes widen again. “Have a nice day and remember to drive safely.”

 ~*~

 When he returns to the police station, he’s informed there’s a man waiting for him in his office. As soon as he hears it’s an older guy dressed in white and blue and wearing a straw hat, John sighs and grabs the coffee he needs.

“Another visit?” he asks, closing the door to his office behind him.

Raiden sits there, leaning back in the chair and looking annoyingly comfortable. “You seemed annoyed that I turned up unannounced.” He spreads his arms. “I thought I would do things the human way for once.”

“How kind of you,” he mutters, taking his own seat behind his desk. “What do you want?”

Raiden smiles at him. “I’m afraid I’ve not been entirely honest with you.”

John glares at him over his plastic cup. “What a surprise.”

“When I said it was time for the next generation, I didn’t mean there was going to be an official Mortal Kombat tournament any day now,” Raiden explains, looking far too pleased with himself. “That’s still a few years away.”

He’s very proud that he’s not thrown the hot coffee in Raiden’s face. “Is it?”

“It got your attention, though, and that was what I needed,” Raiden continues calmly. “See, Shang Tsung’s a very sore loser and he’s resorted to cheating.”

John thought that only annoyed Raiden because the thunder god hadn’t thought of it first. “What’s he doing?”

“He’s sending his people to various realms to take out potential fighters,” Raiden says, his face more serious now. “Officially, he has nothing to do with it, of course, but when promising warriors start dying in every realm but his, it doesn’t take a genius to realise what is happening.” He pauses for a moment. “Although I am, of course.”

“And who is he targeting in Beacon Hills?” John asks, sipping his coffee. Derek Hale, probably. He could do with a few more years of training, but John wouldn’t want to face him in a fight.

“Derek Hale,” Raiden says, confirming John’s suspicions. “Scott McCall, Allison Argent, Lydia Martin...”

John frowns at those names. Scott, sure, he’s a werewolf too, and he’s heard how good Allison is at archery, but why Lydia? He’s still not sure what the hell has happened to her recently, but she shouldn’t be anywhere near a fighting tournament.

“And your son.”

“No,” he says. “Stiles doesn’t fight – not in that sense.” Oh, his son will argue and debate and is stubborn as hell, but he has no interest in fighting physically. There should be no reason for Shang Tsung to want Stiles dead. “If Shang Tsung wants revenge, let him kill me.”

Raiden tutted disapprovingly. “Johnny, you should know better than anyone that it takes more than muscle to win a fight. Your son is clever, and a good strategist is worth ten martial arts fighters.”

John huffs. “I had a strategy.” Don’t die. It worked pretty well.

Raiden raises an eyebrow. “Really? Punching your enemy in the balls and then running off is a strategy?”

He shrugs. It wasn’t a technique his sensei had taught him, but a win was a win. “I beat Goro, didn’t I?” It had been one of the few pieces of advice about fighting he had ever given Stiles: if you can’t avoid a fight, go for the weak spot immediately.

“That you did.” Raiden stands up. “I noticed you talking to Derek Hale earlier. He knows the basics, who’s after him and why. I didn’t tell him about your own involvement in the tournaments.”

He’s actually surprised Raiden hadn’t. “Good. So it’s up to me and him to take care of it?”

Raiden nods. “He is the Alpha of his little pack and probably the first one Shang Tsung’s people will go after. I don’t think they’ll wait long.”

John puts his plastic cup down and buries his head in his hands for a moment. “Great,” he mutters. He’s spent the last several years of his life trying to avoid trouble like this, and now he’s thrown back in with far too little warning. He looks back up, wanting to ask Raiden how long he’s known about Shang Tsung's plan, and swears when his office is empty.

He really hates Raiden sometimes.

 ~*~

 He’s arranged a meeting with Derek in Derek’s loft, and isn’t surprised when they’re not the only ones there. He expected Scott and Stiles, but even Allison is there, along with Isaac and an older man John doesn’t know.

“My uncle, Peter,” Derek begrudgingly introduces them.

Peter gives John a perfectly polite smile and shakes his hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Sheriff, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

John fights to urge to wipe his hand on his jacket, and simply smiles back. “Nice to meet you too.”

He sits down in one of the old and mismatched chairs and looks around. Stiles is understandably nervous, bouncing his knee up and down in his chair. Scott appears calmer, but keeps glancing at Allison, the only one who is genuinely calm and observing the others. Derek prowls around the room restlessly, nudging Isaac to sit down as well and glaring at his uncle who is leaning against the wall next to John. “Uhm,” says Scott, “I didn’t know you knew about...” he trails off, then gestures at himself, Isaac, Peter and Derek.

“Werewolves, yes,” John replies. “I’m not here for that. This business with Shang Tsung is far more serious.”

“How do you even know the guy, Dad?” Stiles bursts out. “All I could find is that he’s some sort of sorcerer mentioned in the texts of some Shaolin monk society, someone who tried to take over the world but was stopped just in time by one of their monks. What does any of that have to do with you?”

“It’s a long story,” he says.

“I’ve got time,” Stiles tells him, like John knew he would.

That sets off the others. “What do you know about Raiden?” Scott asks, while Derek wants to know what John knows about Shang Tsung and how to defeat him.

Isaac raises his hand almost meekly. “Am I the only one still curious how he even knows about werewolves?”

Allison loudly sighs, but doesn’t speak up and Peter’s smile turns into a smug smirk. Derek and Scott begin arguing over who they need to know about first, Raiden or Shang Tsung, Isaac once again wants to know how the Sheriff found out about the werewolves, and John has had enough.

“I was a martial arts action movie star called Johnny Cage who used to act in B movies,” he says, and that shuts everyone up for a moment.

“I’d say they were C movies at best,” Peter says quietly, smiling when John glares at him. “What?”

Stiles and Scott stare at him, Allison is clearly fighting the urge to giggle and Isaac frowns. “That still doesn’t explain why you know about werewolves.”

“Dad!” Stiles shouts, waving his arms in the air. “How – why – you could’ve said! This is kinda important information!”

“Can you roundhouse kick a guy in the face?” Scott asks, ignoring Stiles’ glare.

“Do you have any idea how much easier my life would’ve been if people knew my dad had been a movie star?” Stiles tells him, still flailing his arms around. “How many parties I would’ve been invited to?” He makes a shocked noise. “Dad, I’m your only son, you’re supposed to tell me these things!” 

Peter snorts. “Don’t fool yourself, kid, he’s not exactly Jean-Claude Van Damme.”

John knows exactly where Peter is standing, so he doesn’t even need to look when he curls his fingers into a fist and punches him, hard and fast. The strangled noise Peter makes as John pulls his fist back is music to his ears. Peter awkwardly sags down against the wall, cupping his groin protectively. John’s pleased to notice that apart from Stiles, the other guys are wincing in sympathy. “Does anyone else have any questions about Johnny Cage?” he asks brightly.

Scott, Isaac and Derek shake their heads. “You better not have any more secrets in your past I need to know about,” Stiles says, still sulking.

“So now’s not the time to tell you about how I was a surgeon in West-Hollywood before you were born?” he asks, smiling when Stiles’ mouth drops open in disbelief.

“Dad!”

“I’m joking, Stiles!”

Stiles narrows his eyes at him, and sits back with a huff.

“Anyway,” Derek says, half-surprised and half-amused that his uncle is curled into a ball and whimpering in pain, “you haven’t explained how you know about Raiden and Shang Tsung.”

John nods, and does his best to tell the story of Mortal Kombat and the tournament he was in as quickly as possible. It takes a while, especially when the others interrupt him to ask questions, but eventually he thinks he’s told them the most important parts. “And now Shang Tsung has sent people to kill those he thinks are promising fighters,” he finishes.

“The Alpha pack,” Derek says, which means exactly nothing to John. “I should’ve known there was a reason they had come here.”

“What is –”

“A pack of Alpha werewolves. They have a leader of sorts, Deucalion. They came after Isaac,” Derek explains.

Isaac wasn’t on the list Raiden mentioned. “Probably wanted to use him to lure you into a trap,” John says.

“We think there’s five of them in total,” Derek continues. “A woman and a man, and a younger set of twins.”

And all of them werewolves. If they don’t do something soon, chaos is going to break out in Beacon Hills. John refuses to let that happen. “We need to strike, and fast.”

“Couldn’t you challenge them?” Allison asks. “I mean, from what you said, the tournament is very formal. If we beat them in a fight, wouldn’t that force them to leave?”

“It might,” John mused. “But then they’re not here on official tournament business, are they?”

“No, but they were sent here by Shang Tsung, right?” Stiles interjects. “So they probably respect some of the rules. If you make the challenge interesting enough, they might accept.”

“Or,” Peter says, slowly getting up and shooting John a glare, “imply they’re cowards for not wanting to take part. Usually helps.”

Derek nods at all the suggestions. “Deucalion might respect someone who has fought in the tournament before,” he muses, before looking at John. “You can issue the challenge.”

He gets Derek’s logic, but that doesn’t mean John likes having to go up to some Alpha werewolf and his pack. “And what’s the challenge?” he asks. “Our best fighter against his best fighter? Or two on two?”

“Two on two.” Derek looks around for signs of disagreement, then nods. “We can look out for each other that way.”

“I can watch your backs too,” Allison offers, turning to look at Derek. “If it looks like Deucalion won’t play by the rules I can shoot him.”

“That sounds like cheating.” John likes the idea of back-up, though. Just not the idea of Allison being the only one.

She smiles sweetly at him. “Only a little.”

“Remind me never to play poker with your dad,” John says, briefly smiling back. “When do you want to do this, Derek?”

Derek paces up and down the room, frowning. “Next full moon, we’ll all be at our strongest,” he says. “But where? We need plenty of space with no chance of hurting anyone else.”

It’s silent for a moment until Stiles sits up. “The lacrosse field. Wide open space, no one ever comes there at night, it’s better than the Preserve.”

After some arguing about the pros and cons, they all agree that the school’s lacrosse field is their best bet. It’ll be easier to define which areas they’ll be allowed to fight in and easier to keep an eye on the four fighters. It could be worse.

“So, who is going to fight?” John asks, although he already knows what Derek’s answer is going to be.

“Me and Scott.” Scott looks scared for a moment, then puts on a brave face. John watches him for a moment, feeling sorry for him, then nods.

“I guess I should find that Deucalion and see if he wants to come out and play.”


	2. Chapter 2

He’s staying out of Derek and Scott’s training regime. They’re werewolves, they have completely different techniques and John has no idea how to beat a werewolf on the full moon.

That leaves finding Deucalion as his only job, and that’s made easy by the fact that Deucalion finds him at the police station.

“I heard you wanted to speak to me, Sheriff,” the man says, smiling politely as he sits down in John’s office.

“Let me guess, older guy, white and blue clothes, straw hat, strange eyes?” For someone who is not officially allowed to be involved, Raiden completely fails at subtlety.

Deucalion shrugs and smiles. “Could’ve been.” He taps his glasses. “I have some trouble with my eyes, you see.”

John nods, and decides to get to business. “I have a proposal, Mr. Deucalion.”

“Deucalion is my first name, actually, Sheriff.”

He keeps a polite smile on his face, gritting his teeth briefly. “All right, Deucalion. I know why you’re here, and I think it’s best if we end it before things get... messy. I suggest we have one challenge to settle things. You could consider it a small-scale tournament. You send your two best fighters, we send our best two. One fight, winner takes all.”

Deucalion tilts his head. “And what does the winner take, Sheriff?”

“The losers’ lives,” he says, and it’s one of the hardest things he’s ever had to say in his life. “Like I said, small-scale tournament.”

“And why I should play by your rules, Sheriff? I could kill your fighters whenever I like, each and every one of them. Why risk mine?”

“Because,” John says, leaning forward, “the longer you keep this up, the more potential fighters you kill, the more attention you and your pack are going to get from beings whose attention you really don’t want. I imagine your master, Shang Tsung, can probably argue his way out of getting killed, but the rules of Mortal Kombat are sacred. Cheating and rule-breaking by mortals is frowned upon and your punishment isn’t going to be pretty.” It’s partly a bluff. The Elder Gods don’t care nearly as much about the sacred rules as they should, but John is pretty sure that Raiden and the protectors of the other realms will take action if the Elder Gods don’t. “I’ve been to Outworld, Deucalion. If Hell exists, it’s in there.”

Deucalion remains quiet. “Who have you chosen?”

John smiles, relieved Deucalion has accepted. “You’ll find out at the next full moon, on the lacrosse field.”

“I look forward to it.” Deucalion stands up, and nods politely at John. “Until then, Johnny Cage.”

John scowls as the other man leaves his office. He hopes Deucalion takes part in the fight himself so Scott or Derek can wipe the smug smile off his face.

He doesn’t even want to think about them losing.

~*~

Apart from Stiles having himself a Johnny Cage marathon – John hates the Internet, especially Netflix and torrents – the two weeks leading up to the full moon are quiet.

He feels awkward as he waits on the side of the lacrosse field, Peter Hale on one side, Deucalion on the other. “Nice night we’re having,” he comments.

Both men remain silent.

Derek arrives first, and he’s followed by Isaac, Scott and Stiles. Allison is hiding somewhere, she refused to tell John where exactly. “So,” Derek says, standing in front of Deucalion. “Where’s your pack?"

Deucalion smiles, then whistles.

He hears noise from the bushes around the field, and four figures emerge. Two are older, a tall broad man with very short hair, and a beautiful woman with long dark hair. She walks barefoot, grinning and licking her lips when she spots the other werewolves. Behind them are two teenagers, the twins Derek mentioned. All their eyes briefly flash red.

John gulps, putting his hand on his gun. He shouldn’t need it tonight, but it makes him feel safer. “Let me guess, they also play fetch?”

The older man snarls at John, who barely manages not to flinch.

“I’m more interested in whether or not they can play dead,” Peter comments, grinning back when the same werewolf snarls at him.

“We’re here to fight, not to argue,” Derek tells them. Scott and Isaac stand on either side of him, with Stiles next to Scott.

“I still say we should’ve invited Uncle Bob,” Peter says, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his jacket. “You know what he’s like, he could’ve talked these guys to death.”

Derek shoots him a glare. “My grandparents left Britain to get away from the guy, we’re not getting him involved.” He shudders at the thought.

Peter shrugs. “Just a suggestion.”

No amount of raised eyebrows and inquisitive glances from Scott, Isaac and Stiles get Derek to elaborate on this mysterious uncle. John coughs. “Family trees aside, Derek is right. You are here to fight.”

“Thank you for accepting the challenge, Deucalion,” Derek tells him, attempting a polite smile.

“How could I refuse?” Deucalion walks towards the rest of his pack, who have gathered about ten feet away from Derek. “A challenge from the great Johnny Cage should not be ignored.

John hears Peter snigger briefly next to him, and he glares at the man. “Werewolf or not,” he says quietly, “I can still punch you.” That shuts Peter up.

Now that Deucalion has left his side, Stiles comes hurrying towards him. “Don’t worry, Dad. We’ve got a plan,” he whispers. “Isaac and I’ve been spying on them, we’re pretty sure which two he’s gonna pick.”

“Is that why you were out most nights?” John asks. He half-suspected it had something to do with this challenge, which was the only reason he hadn’t stopped Stiles from leaving.

“Yeah, well, I had to –” Stiles pauses, then blinks. “You knew?”

John just gives him a look.

“We’ve chosen our two best fighters,” Deucalion announces loudly, and the twins step forward. “Ethan and Aidan.”

Derek steps forward with Scott, and Isaac walks over to the Sheriff, Peter and Stiles. “So have we,” Derek replies. His eyes flash red.

“We were right,” Stiles says quietly, and he shares a grin with Isaac. “They picked the twins.”

Isaac nods, his wide eyes nervous. “Let’s hope we’re right about their weakness too when they merge.”

John will have to ask him about that later. Right now he has a match to officiate. “One fight, two rounds. In order to win, both fighters of the opposing team have to be defeated. In the event of a tie, there will be a third round. Are you all ready?”

The twins pay him no mind, Derek is busy glaring them down and only Scott gives him a nod.

John takes a deep breath. He had hoped that he would never have to say these words. “Round one...”

There’s a lightning strike right behind them, and everyone turns to look at the stands.

Raiden sits there, leaning back, his feet on the back of the chair in front of him. “All right, now you may begin.” He eats something from a cardboard bucket in his lap.

John stares at him. “Is that popcorn?” he asks, incredulous.

“You want some?” The thunder god holds out the bucket. “It’s salted.”

“No, thanks,” John says, and turns around again.

“I’ll have some.” Peter runs up the stands to take a handful.

John groans, and he feels Stiles pat him on the shoulder. “I know, Dad,” Stiles says.

Peter jogs back to stand next to John. “Could never resist popcorn. Go on.”

“Thank you,” John says, and makes a mental note to punch Peter in the balls for this later. “Round one...” He pauses to take a deep breath, but then they’re interrupted by a car driving onto the field, fast and loud. “What the hell is going on here?” he shouts, frustrated. It’s a minivan, and not one he recognises from seeing around town.

Deucalion snarls at Derek. “You brought outsiders to this?”

“I have no idea who that is,” Derek tells him, and the confusion in his eyes is genuine.

The dark minivan comes closer, and John can tell there’s a blonde woman inside who is clearly furious. She pulls to a screeching halt right behind the other two werewolves from Deucalion’s pack. She gets out of the car and slams the door shut. “You two,” she says, glaring at the werewolf twins, “are in so much trouble.”

John blinks. The new arrival is some sort of middle-aged housewife, wearing jeans, sneakers and a light blue long-sleeved shirt buttoned haphazardly over a white t-shirt. “Is she a werewolf too?” he asks, looking at Isaac and Stiles before looking at Peter.

“I have no idea who she is,” Peter says, and eats some more popcorn.

The housewife pushes Deucalion aside, who falls down on the grass. Ignoring him, she marches up to the twins, who give each other a worried look before looking down at the angry woman in front of them. “Do you have any idea what you put your father and me through?” she says, poking one of them in the chest. “You two just run off in the middle of the night, we were all worried sick. What were you thinking?”

“We thought it was safer for you guys if we left,” one of them mumbles.

“Safer?” the woman screams. “Safer if we didn’t know where you were? Preston, you will always be my son, I don’t care if you turn into a wild animal once a month, we’ve been through worse.”

Peter snorts. “Worse than a werewolf? She must be from one hell of a neighbourhood.”

“Well, now you know where we are,” the other twin replies casually. “We’re fine, Mom, you can go now.”

She snorts, then turns around to look at the other three werewolves. “Oh yes, you two are doing great for yourself. I even found out you enrolled at the local high school. Did you really think school administration wasn’t going to check? Ethan and Aiden, where did you two even come up with those names?” She huffs. “You two are coming home with me right now. You’re both grounded for at least a year.”

“But Mom,” one of them whines, and in the blink of an eye, the woman has him by the ear, twisting it until the twin yelps in pain as she drags him down.

“No, Porter. I have had enough of this. You have a daughter, and Julie has been going out of her mind with worry. You’re going home and that is final.”

The other twin briefly laughs before the woman grabs him by the ear as well and drags them both off. As she shoves them into the minivan, she briefly turns around. “I’m really sorry about this,” she says, smiling awkwardly. “I hope they didn’t cause too much trouble.”

“Uhm,” says John, figuring it’s probably his duty as Sheriff to say something. “That’s all right, Ma’am. Have a safe trip.”

She gives him a wave before getting into the car and driving off, tires squealing.

It’s silent for a long time, interrupted only by Raiden noisily eating his popcorn. “You know what, I did not see that coming,” the thunder god says, and strolls onto the field, still holding the bucket. He stands next to Peter, who takes another handful.

“Does that mean we win by default?” Stiles asks. “Dad?”

John shakes his head. “I have no idea. Raiden? Has this ever happened?”

“What, a fighter getting dragged off by his angry mother? No,” Raiden replies, then smiles. “Do you think Shang Tsung’s mother is still alive?”

He doesn’t want to think about that. “So who wins?”

“There was no match,” Deucalion exclaims, gesturing with his stick. “Kali and Ennis will fight instead.”

But as the other two werewolves step forward, Raiden shakes his head. “I don’t think so. You named your two champions. They defaulted, you lose.”

“But –” Deucalion tries, then stops.

Raiden holds out one arm, and it’s crackling with electric energy. “Don’t test me, human.” He grins. “You lost. Be happy Derek and Scott are willing to let you live.”

Derek looks surprised at that, but remains quiet. John doesn’t blame him, no one wants to argue with a guy who has a lightning bolt dancing up and down his arm.

“This isn’t over, thunder god,” Deucalion hisses.

“It is,” Raiden says. “Run back to your master, doggy, and tell him that I am still the protector of this realm.”

With a snarl, Deucalion leaves, Ennis and Kali following him into the darkness.

The lightning is absorbed into Raiden’s body, and he passes the bucket of popcorn to Peter. “It’s been nice seeing you again, Johnny.” He turns to give the others a quick wave. “I’ll probably see some of you in a few years.”

“What do you –” Derek is cut off by Raiden disappearing into the sky in a bright flash. “I hate that guy,” he exclaims, rubbing at his eyes.

“Join the club,” John says, and takes some of Peter’s popcorn.

“So it’s over now?” Isaac asks, his eyes hopeful. “No one’s gonna die?”

John gives him an encouraging smile. “It’s over, Isaac, we’re all fine.”

“Not if we’re still here when Coach finds out his lacrosse field is ruined.” Stiles points at the tire tracks the twin’s mother left behind.

“Great,” John grumbles. Now he gets to spend tomorrow fielding calls from an angry Coach Finstock demanding to know what the Beacon Hills police department is going to do about the vandals ruining his field.

Still, it's not the end of the world.

**Author's Note:**

> So, there's a few references to things that aren't Mortal Kombat or Teen Wolf that may have confused you: 
> 
> \- “So now’s not the time to tell you about how I was a surgeon in West-Hollywood before you were born?” references Linden Ashby's role on Melrose Place as Dr. Brett Cooper.
> 
> \- “I still say we should’ve invited Uncle Bob,” Peter says, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his jacket. “You know what he’s like, he could’ve talked these guys to death.” refers to Bob Hale, a character from the CBBC sketch comedy series Horrible Histories. [He has to be seen to be believed.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWLr7xTZ-sY)
> 
> \- The angry housewife dragging the werewolf twins off is Lynette Scavo from Desperate Housewives. The actors who play the werewolf twins on Teen Wolf used to be her twins on Desperate Housewives, and Lynette Scavo can be pretty scary and unstoppable sometimes.


End file.
